Shugoshin binds with subtelomere and controls DNA replication. Credit: Junko Kanoh DNA forms chromosome by combining with various proteins and other matters. Telemere, the chromosome ends, is playing an inevitable role in maintaining the life including germ cells or cell senescence. Besides, the function of subtelomere, the telomere-adjacent region, has not yet been clarified although […]

CRISPR-Cas systems are widely heralded as a new generation of genetic tools. But development of these tools requires researchers to identify the protospacer-adjacent motifs (PAMs) that unlock each system’s functionality. A new set of techniques expedites PAM identification—and early testing finds that many CRISPR-Cas systems actually have multiple PAMs of varying strength. CRISPR-Cas systems protect […]

Shana Welles found this tumbleweed in Riverside and put in the bed of her pickup truck. Two invasive species of tumbleweed have hybridized to create a new species of tumbleweed that University of California, Riverside researchers found has dramatically expanded its geographic range in California in just a decade. The UC Riverside researchers believe Salsola […]

Timothy Perez and James Stroud demonstrate forestry techniques used to measure the long-term storage of carbon by trees. Changes in temperature and weather patterns pose a serious threat to the millions of animal, plant and fungi species found in the tropics. In an article published in Science, lead authors and biology Ph.D. students Timothy Perez […]

This 2006 photo provided by the Woodland Park Zoo shows a orangutan named Towan at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. Towan, 48 years, died Thursday, March 24, 2016, during a veterinary examination. He had been taking medication for respiratory issues, which zoo officials say hadn’t improved his condition. (Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo via AP) The Seattle […]

With super resolution microscopy and qPAINT analysis, researchers will be able to quantify individual molecules at specific locations in the cell. These images show varying copy numbers (shown are three, four, five, and six in the bottom images) of a protein residing in small so-called nuclear pore complexes that permit shuttling of various molecules in […]

Researchers of Leuven University and VIB in Belgium have shown that the yeasts used to ferment cocoa during chocolate production can modify the aroma of the resulting chocolate. «The set of new yeast variants that we generated makes it possible to create a whole range of boutique chocolates to match everyone’s favorite flavor, similar to […]

Credit: Lilla Frerichs/public domain Bees can use sophisticated signals to warn their nestmates about the level of danger from predators attacking foragers or the nest, according to a new study. Biologists at UC San Diego and in China found that an Asian species of honey bee can produce different types of vibrational «stop signals» when […]

According to epigenetics—the study of inheritable changes in gene expression not directly coded in our DNA—our life experiences may be passed on to our children and our children’s children. Studies on survivors of traumatic events have suggested that exposure to stress may indeed have lasting effects on subsequent generations. But how exactly are these […]

In experiments, big brown bats showed they don’t suffer a temporary loss of hearing sensitivity amid the intense noise in which they live. Credit: Matt Reinbold via Flickr At some time or another – perhaps at a loud concert or a construction site, for instance – many people have experienced the loss of hearing sensitivity […]